AMC Posts Highest May Attendance Since 2019, Stock Surges

AMC Entertainment (AMC) just delivered the kind of headline operators have been waiting on for years. The company received 25.5 million guests at its theatres in May, recording the highest-attended month of May since 2019.

Shares responded in kind. AMC shares jumped 20% to $2.09 on Monday, following a 9.5% gain on Friday.

The Memorial Day boost

AMC welcomed 4.2 million moviegoers from Thursday through Sunday during the Memorial Day weekend across its U.S. AMC Theatres and international ODEON Cinemas locations.

The weekend was bolstered by a reported $81 million domestic box office haul from “Backrooms,” which became the sixth debut in the past 10 weeks to cross $75 million in its opening weekend.

A genuinely strong 2026 slate

Moviegoers were driven by releases that included “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” “Michael,” “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” “Project Hail Mary,” “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” and “Backrooms” — all of which opened to more than $75 million in North American ticket sales.

CEO Adam Aron expressed confidence in the rest of 2026, citing an upcoming lineup that includes Toy Story 5, Supergirl, and Minions & Monsters.

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Debt picture still looms

The attendance win matters because AMC is still working through the post-COVID balance sheet. The strong May attendance arrives as AMC continues to manage a substantial debt load built up during COVID-19 theater closures and years of heavy share dilution, though it has made progress through refinancing transactions, debt-for-equity exchanges, and maturity extensions.

Key steps include eliminating roughly $183 million of exchangeable notes in 2025 and another $156 million in May 2026, plus refinancing $425 million of Odeon debt in April 2026 to push the maturity to 2031 at a lower rate.

Insider buying, retail attention

According to insider trading disclosures, Chairman and CEO Adam Aron purchased 250,000 AMC shares on May 19 at approximately $1.38 per share, the first reported insider purchase at AMC since 2023.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around AMC jumped from neutral to bullish over the past 24 hours, while message volume jumped from normal to high levels.

Options market and stocks to watch

AMC: Watch for elevated call flow and an IV reaction after the gap higher. AMC shares are extremely volatile and have had 35 moves greater than 5% over the last year, so premium will not stay cheap for long.

CNK: Rival Cinemark also reported a strong May, posting record attendance for the month and all-time highs in food and beverage spending per customer. Watch for sympathy flow.

CMCSA: Comcast’s Universal Pictures is a direct beneficiary of theatrical strength via titles like “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.” Watch for read-throughs into the studio segment.

DIS: Disney sits behind Lucasfilm’s “The Mandalorian and Grogu” and the upcoming Pixar slate. Watch how box-office momentum feeds the studio narrative ahead of the next print.

IMAX: A loaded blockbuster slate is the cleanest tailwind for premium-format demand. Watch for follow-through on attendance trends across the exhibitor group, with more headlines on our news page.

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